Crochet
by Aeriths-Rain
Summary: Vincent thought he was ready for everything.  That was before he walked down to breakfast and found Cid crocheting.  Warnings: Strong language, Cid's version of being sweet.  Oneshot


**Pairing:** Cid x Vincent  
><strong>For:<strong> Beruthiels-Cat for generally being lovely and adorable  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> Language, Cid being sweet in a way  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> Crochet (Thanks shadowhaloedangel)

* * *

><p>Vincent Valentine had seen a lot in his twenty seven years of life, and thirty two years of not life but not death either. He'd seen the world change more than he could have imagined, and seen himself betrayed by those who he had trusted. He had seen a group of misfits work together to change history, seen good friends die, and seen the world saved several times. He should have been unshakeable.<p>

But he wasn't prepared to come downstairs one morning to find Cid sat at the kitchen table, staring with concentration at a small hook and a piece of yarn which linked into a larger black ball. This behaviour wasn't like Cid at all, and Vincent for a moment wondered if his lover had been replaced by someone or something else. Then the loop slipped off the hook, and Cid let out a string of curses which left no confusion over his identity.

Vincent raised an eyebrow, walking past Cid and making him a cup of tea. He knew that tea would help – that the man he loved, despite the many wonderful things about him, scarcely counted as human before he'd had some tea or a cigarette. This humanness then slipped away if it went too long between cups. He waited while the other took a sip, before sitting down opposite him and staring into his eyes.  
>"Cid, what are you doing?"<p>

"What the fucking hell does it look like I'm doing Vince?"  
>Vincent took a deep breath, and decided that Cid's tea clearly hadn't yet had time to reach the more delicate parts of his brain.<p>

"It looks like you're knitting."  
>"It's crochet."<p>

That simple correction nearly made Vincent fall backwards off his stool in surprise. The fact that Cid Highwind even knew about crochet was shocking enough, but that he was both doing it, and genuinely sounded offended when it was called the wrong thing, made Vincent smile into his cape. He was seeing a whole new side to the other this morning.  
>"I suppose what I mean Cid is why are you crocheting?"<p>

Cid shrugged, and focussed on his work. Vincent rolled his eyes.  
>"I'm taking Galian out for a run. Hopefully the caffeine will have reached your higher processes when I return."<p>

Cid didn't even look up when Vincent left, or register the sound of him transforming and a giant dog lolloping away across the lawn. He was focussed on the piece he was creating, sliding the hook in and out of the work.

He couldn't believe Vincent had forgotten what had happened last night. It wouldn't be the first time though. So many awful things had happened to the pale man that in an attempt to keep his sanity, Vincent would block anything that upset him from his mind. It certainly made trying to get him to visit a doctor interesting – Vincent would deny that he ever knew there had been an appointment, panic about it, forget, and then have to be told again.

Even if Vincent had forgotten, he wasn't going to. Now, if only this fucking piece of wool would stay on the bloody hook... He slammed his hand down on the table.

Galian ran out through the woods behind the house, searching for stray monsters to eat or play with, he wasn't overly bothered which. Vincent meanwhile was thinking. He couldn't believe Cid would be vindictive, but after the night before it seemed that he was being so.

It had started simply enough. Marlene had come over to be babysat while Tifa went out to a play, and she had wanted to learn some embroidery. Vincent had found some scraps of fabric, and tried to teach her.

It hadn't gone well. Vincent's claws ripped the fabric to shreds, and when he removed the gauntlet the pressure required to hold the fabric still left him in too much pain to work for more than a few minutes at a time. Worse, it had brought back memories of being a Turk, of fixing his uniform and helping Lucrecia modify her clothes for the baby. He remembered the small toy he'd sewn out of an old lab coat, the one toy put aside for the child's birth. He'd had to excuse himself as he'd ended up near tears, and Cid had been furious.

Vincent had felt sick inside as Cid had yelled at him for leaving the pilot alone with a little girl who wanted to embroider. Cid had snorted at him, and said he didn't know how and shouldn't have to, because sewing was for girls and that was that. Vincent, though upset, had been prepared to put it aside, and resume today as normal, but it seemed Cid wasn't able to.

Eventually, Galian had had enough of running and Vincent took over to come back home. He carefully removed the dead bugs from his hair, and the tail of a small zolom from his mouth, mentally reprimanding Galian for not finishing his food. Then he walked back into the house.

Cid was still at the table, and seemed to be under the impression that swearing viciously at the yarn would make it do what it was meant to. However, the yarn seemed to share that impression, and he'd made one small white sphere, a small dark grey one, and a larger black sphere. Now he was working on one which had started dark green, and was now a dark blue. He looked up when Vincent returned.  
>"Yer stopped sulking then Vince?"<p>

Vincent nodded, sitting down and watching in silence. He was used to sitting in silence and staring, and he was fascinated by seeing Cid doing something with his hands that wasn't with an engine.

Cid changed to a smaller hook, making another four spheres, two large and two small, in peach. Vincent watched him carefully, then reached out for the abandoned hook, carefully mirroring the other's actions with the black wool. If he held the hook carefully in the gauntlet, the lethal tips didn't touch the wool, and didn't cause it to tear. Cid was a bad teacher, he lost his temper and yelled and threw things around, but just watching him gave Vincent a chance to learn. He slowly began something which almost looked like a semicircle, if you squinted.

"What are you making?" Vincent asked, guessing that the caffeine would have had time to work by now. His guess was proved correct when the other smiled.  
>"You."<br>Vincent blinked. As far as he was aware, he was not eight differently coloured circles.  
>"Well, us. I saw how messed up ya were last night, and I thought I could try this, see if I could do it one handed. Cos if I can yer can right?"<br>Vincent nodded slowly, a small smile hidden by his cloak. He seemed to have underestimated the other this morning.  
>"Well, I was right and yer can, as yer just found out. But I needed something to make, and I thought tha' I could make us." He pointed at the black and greenblue spheres, and the two larger pink ones. "Yer can keep them somewhere when I've sewn'm together. Jus' not the deck of the Highwind, I've got a reputation to uphold ya know?"

Vincent nodded again.  
>"And the others?"<br>"Well, I felt kinda shit for makin a scene in front of Marlene, so I'm making her ones of her and Denzel. But we're saying that they're from yer. Cos no fucking way does Cid Highwind crochet."

Vincent nodded a third time, standing up and walking behind the other, leaning over him and moving to kiss his ear. He whispered lowly.  
>"You are a very kind man Cid Highwind, and one of these days people are going to find that out."<br>Cid twisted in his seat to kiss Vincent, pulling the taller man into his lap as his arms wrapped around his waist. Vincent moaned softly and held onto him.  
>"Yer aint gonna tell them. Now, lemme see what yer got so far." He took a look at it and grinned. "See, yer aint just a pretty face. Now, bugger off and get me more tea, and I'll see if I can make the little Vince a cape."<p>

Vincent rolled his eyes and went to fetch a cup.


End file.
